Conservation of water has become a significant issue worldwide due to the reduction in rainfall, increase in population and salinity problems with existing water sources. These problems have increased the need to recycle and optimise use of existing water. For a household, the simplest way to reduce the quantity of mains water used is to collect rainwater in a tank. Water tanks capture rainwater at the point of use, for example, a dwelling, factory, school, building or the like. Unfortunately, due to an increased population and subsequent over development, adequate space in built-up areas to house water tanks is a significant problem. Further, with the growing focus on aesthetic looks of a dwelling or building, many people object to water tanks being visible.
The deficiencies of existing water tanks has led to the development of flexible water storage systems, such as that shown in WO 2004/053242. Flexible water storage systems are advantageous as they are more easily transportable when flat-packed than rigid tanks; relatively simple to construct on site; can be located in areas that are out of sight; in difficult access situations or where height restrictions exist (such as, under floors, decks or in walls) and complicated piping is generally not required.
However, the system of WO2004/053242 has been found to have practical installation and operation limitations. For example, the system uses a top fill method with a pivoting swing arm having o-rings as the method for sealing between the two arms. The o-rings have been found to leak after a period of time when the system is full. The swing arm also requires a significant space about it to operate correctly, thereby limiting the location in which the system can be installed and the potential capacity of the system as the fill potential fill height is limited by the presence of the filling mechanism. The o-rings have also been found to jam the swing arm mechanism in place thus preventing the system from filling to its full capacity.
Further, if a second reservoir is used, it is filled through a different inlet pipe from the primary reservoir. It is filled from the outlet pipe of the primary reservoir which in the case of WO2004/053242 is only a 32 millimeter pipe which restricts the flow. This has the potential to cause water to back up in the storm water downpipes because the primary reservoir is filling via a 90 mm pipe but only emptying to subsequent reservoirs via a 32 mm pipe. Still further, the system can not be installed by a home handyman.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an efficient flexible water storage assembly to store rainwater or grey water which is easier to construct, install and operate is than existing systems, does not leak at junctions, will enable fixed pipe work to remain fixed without the risk of breaking from the weight or movement of the system, requires less maintenance and will fill several bladders more quickly and simultaneously and that can be filled via a 100 mm pipe or a 90 mm pipe. Further, there is a need for a flexible water storage assembly that can be installed by a home handyman.